Shelton: Once Despised, Aguayo And Conte Wind Up Heroes In Bucs’ Win

Most of the time, you say their names as if they were swear words, as if they burned your lips on the way out.

You shake your head as they are introduced. You consider them roadblocks in the way of winning. They are the men to blame, and fans don’t miss a chance to do so.

Their names come out of your mouth with the venom you usually reserve for the guy who sold you a bad car. You say it the way you once said “Piscatelli” or “Freeman” or “McCants.”

Bucs K Roberto Aguayo – Photo by: Getty Images

Much of the time, you consider them enemies of the state.

Chris Conte.

Roberto Aguayo.

Occasionally, Jameis Winston.

Sometimes, Dirk Koetter.

You know, the heroes of Sunday’s impressive 19-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs?

Ah, what a win this one was. If you are measuring victories, this is the one you start with. Kansas City had won five in a row. They were impressive across the defensive line. They were amazing in the secondary. Beating Chicago a week ago would be one thing, but playing with the Chiefs would be something else, right?

Consider this: It was the Bucs’ first win over a team that had won at least seven games since the final game of the 2012 season.

“Today, we were a good football team,” said Bucs’ coach Dirk Koetter. “We played well in all three phases.”

And here they came: The Unexpecteds.

Over the course of the season, there were already wanted posters out on Conte and Aguayo.

Winston and Koetter? Well, they would at least have been brought in for questioning. They are, after all, the coach and the quarterback.

Did you see Conte’s Play of the Week coming? Of course not. Conte had spent a lot of time this season chasing receivers across goal lines. Who thought he would cut in front of receiver Chris Conley five yards deep in the end zone and ramble 53 yards with a lead-preserving victory?

Conte? Really? Without that play, the Chiefs take over the game right there.

Bucs S Chris Conte – Photo by: Getty Images

Instead, Tampa Bay drove down and scored the clinching touchdown. It was his second huge play (he had a pick-six last week) in two weeks. The Bucs have won both games.

“I was just doing my job,” Conte said. “I was just patient on that play. It’s a play that we’ve seen before in practice, so I was ready for it … They had a play-action fake and he threw me the ball.”

And how about Aguayo? The suspicions of Aguayo had lingered since his horrible start on the season. It still seems fashionable to suggest the Bucs overpaid something fierce by using a second-round draft pick on Aguayo.

But since lining up for a winning field goal against Carolina, Aguayo has now hit 10-of-11 field goals. He hit four in a row Sunday, and the Bucs needed them all.

He hasn’t been as heavily criticized as the others, but the doubts were starting to grow about quarterback Winston earlier this season, as well. He was too inaccurate, right? He didn’t throw a crisp enough deep pass.

But Winston was terrific against the Bears, and he was better Sunday after the Chiefs. He hit 24-of-39 passes for 331 yards. Over his last three games (one of them a loss to Atlanta), Winston has hit 70 of 109 passes for 904 yards, and a rating of 104.68.

You want to boil Winston’s game to one play? It was third-and-three at the Bucs’ own 30 with 2:11 to go. Without a first down, the Chiefs had an eternity to pull out the game. Instead, Winston threw to Mike Evans, who had a 100-yard day, for 14 yards. By the time the Bucs gave up the ball, there were only eight seconds to play. It was a crucial assault on the clock, and it squeezed the oxygen out of the Chiefs. It was the Bucs’ fourth win in five road games.

You want to boil the essence of Winston down to one day, however, and it was Wednesday, the day he left a letter in each of his teammate’s locker telling them how much it mean to him to be their quarterback. That meant tons. But the way his play on Sunday meant more.

Who else? How about Koetter? His team started out 1-3, and too many key players were injured. But unlike some coaches, Koetter is not a man to remind you of how difficult the road is, or how many players are hurt, or how good the other team is. His job is to win, and he seems to understand that.

Yes, the Bucs should have beaten the Rams, and they could have beaten the Raiders. Instead, his team fell to 1-3, and it kept losing key players. But the Bucs have rallied. The road ahead is difficult, but a win like the one over the Chiefs makes it look possible.

The thing you like about this win was the big plays from different parts of the field. Conte was impressive. Winston was incredible. Cecil Shorts played well. And so forth.

Could this have been a signature win for the Bucs? Well, it depends on what happens from here. If the Bucs finish stronger than the oddsmakers would say, it has a chance to be.

At this point of the program, a chance is the best you can do. A chance means hope. A chances means possibilities.

After years without one, it’s a better place to be than no chance at all – thanks to some unexpected heroes.

No one has won more awards, including two national Associated Press Sports Editors Best Columnist awards and eight top 10 finishes, than the legendary Gary Shelton, former sports columnist of the St. Petersburg Times. Shelton returns to PewterReport.com for his second season of providing post-game commentary on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers like no one else can.

Shelton just received his sixth Sportswriter of the Year award for Florida by the NSSA, and no one has seen more big events, including 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics and 11 Final Fours. Shelton still goes into the locker room to obtain his stories.

And no one has made you angrier, or laugh louder, or think harder about what he has written. Simply put, no one has covered Tampa Bay sports like Shelton has. Now you can read Shelton daily on GarySheltonSports.com and follow him on Twitter at @Gary_Shelton

Bucs fans can enjoy Shelton’s weekly post-game column on the Bucs following every Tampa Bay game exclusively on PewterReport.com, and our readers are encouraged to subscribe to GarySheltonSports.com for all of his expert commentary on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays, USF, Florida, Florida State and all of the sports teams and sports figures in the national spotlight.

About the author

Legendary sports columnist Gary Shelton returns to PewterReport.com for his second season of providing post-game commentary on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers like no one else can. No one has won more sports writing awards than Shelton, who has covered Tampa Bay area sports for decades with his unique brand of humor and insight. Bucs fans can Shelton daily on GarySheltonSports.com and follow him on Twitter at @Gary_Shelton

Loved this post. I’m driving to Miami from Tennessee on Tuesday, on my way back up on Sunday I’ll be attending the game against Seattle! I’ve had these tickets all season long and I can’t believe it’s going to be meaningful for our season to play hard! Let’s go Bucs!

Yes, we all love to trash certain players. Some of them deserve it. But the truth is that we fans want to love the players more than we want to trash them. I was so happy for Conte last week. You could see him amped up on the sidelines after his pick-6. You could just see some weight come off of his shoulders. I was also so happy to see him and Doug Martin embracing and jumping up and down together after the Chiefs win. Conte knew he was a big reason for that win. He may still be a questionable safety. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not super happy for him……for now.

Are these the real Bucs? Phil Simms made a good point on inside the NFL. He said it’s taken to this point in the season for the players to be in real football shape, and being comfortable in what they’re doing. He said with the CBA limiting practices, it’s taken this long to see real football. Smitty said it would take till week four for the defense to really know what they’re doing. So it took till week eight. Hopefully now we’re seeing what we’re going to be.

Conte may not b a great safety, but he isn’t as bad as a lot of the ignorant Tampa Bay fans think he is.
He has been left in one on one coverage of the other teams fastest WR a few times this season and has been beaten.
Guess what ignorant Tampa Bay fans, almost every safety in the league is going to get beaten in one on one coverage by the other teams best or fastest WR. When that happens its not the players fault, it’s the schemes.
Still, Tampa Bay fans are famous for needing a whipping boy so the ignorant fools can blame the teams woes on them.
Conte may not be the best safety in the league, but he has been head and shoulders above the others we have had here since John Lynch. He has made more TD saving tackles this season than any other player and he did so again on Sunday when he tackled a KC running back after he had just finished running over the “All Pro” Lavonae David and I mean he literally ran him over.

drdneast, I guess if Conte hadn’t made the interception then you would be saying “how ignorant” the fans were for not calling Conte out. One play does not make a player go from average to above average in the NFL. Obviously i was happy he made the interception because just maybe this team is ready to compete.

Well Horse, that is your opinion which is based on what facts other than he doesn’t meet your lofty standards.
I’m not sure where your opinions originate from, but I can tell from your first original post about the writing on Pewter Report, that they appear to be pretty negative. I’m sure they spill into other avenues and perceptions of yours as well.
Your comment about “almost there but not quite” can describe almost every play or player in the NFL.
To funny.
BTW, how much are you paying PR to justify your criticisms of the writing here.
People who complain about something they get for free should either not use it or recognize they are ingrates.